Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Rehabilitation ❯ Castles Can Be Fun! ( Chapter 3 )

AN: O.o Wow. This is my shortest story, but it is obviously the most popular. If you like my style, why don’t you check out some of my other stories?

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get this out; I started it about two weeks ago, but I haven’t written a single thing since I updated Alternative. The break seemed to do me good, though-- except for the first few paragraphs, I wrote the entire chapter in one sitting.

I had my voice recital Sunday, and all went well. I’m (finally) getting a handle on my AP US work, so hopefully that will give me more time to work on my stories.

Root for the Steelers in Super Bowl XL on Sunday!

I would like to give a huge thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers!

Standard Disclaimer: Sugarpony does not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. So sorry to disappoint you.

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Rehabilitation

Chapter Three

Castles Can Be Fun!

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Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc sighed.

Why, he thought, of all people, did I have to get stuck with him?

He took a long drag from his cigarette as Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes ranted on and on about his “perfect little girl” beside him.

“But really, why did I have to get called on this mission? I mean, Ed’s a great kid and everything, but my poor little Elysia has to be going crazy missing her daddy by now! She’s only four, after all!”

Havoc sighed and took another drag from his cigarette. “Why can’t you go bother someone else with this?” he asked.

Hughes shot him a glare. “Because Armstrong went to get Winry, Roy and Ed are with Hawkeye, and I don’t want to get shot to death, that’s why.”

The students in the corridors coughed harshly as the lower officer, unable to find a suitable comeback, puffed away on his cancer stick.

Both members of the military, however, stopped as they felt the floor beneath them moving.

They looked below them first and then, upon seeing only a marble staircase, looked around them. It took another few moments for their minds to comprehend the fact that the staircase was floating in midair towards the lower opposite side of the great room.

“Aaaaaaah!!!!!!”

Havoc and Hughes grabbed onto one another, each of them dropping his cigarette and photograph
respectively. As soon as the stairs were once again stationary, however, they broke apart, a furious blush on each of their faces.

Once the two were able to look one another in the face again, Hughes made an observation. “This definitely isn’t where we’re supposed to be.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

Havoc’s comment was met with an icy glare. “So what do you suggest we do about it-- take the stairs again?”

The blond turned green at this suggestion; even if he had agreed to it, though, it would be impossible to do-- the staircase had already moved again, and the pair was stranded.

“I didn’t think so.”

“Well, what do you think we should do?”

The lieutenant colonel, used to having to dig for information, smirked and named the most natural course of action.

“Why, we find out where we are, of course.”

Havoc gulped. Sometimes, he thought, Hughes scares me even more than Hawkeye....

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Winry Rockbell was not at all happy when Major Alex Louis Armstrong knocked on her door.

Quite frankly, the man bugged her. He even scared her a little bit. But what made her really mad was the fact that Ed and Al weren’t with him.

And we all know what happens when Winry gets really mad.

-CLANG!!!!!!!-

Major Alex Louis Armstrong became suddenly familiar with Winry’s faithful wrench Wrenchy.

He also learned how to speak very, very quickly.

Of course, the news he brought only made Winry even more angry.

“HOW COULD THAT IDIOT BREAK MY AUTOMAIL AGAIN? ! THAT JERK! I BET HE WAS IN A FIGHT AGAIN! WASN'T HE? WASN’T HE? !”

Major Armstrong did his very best to calm the frightening girl who was currently shaking him.

After a very long and scary experience, Winry was calm enough to grab her toolkit and-- still not quite coherent, obviously, because she questioned nothing-- took hold of a smelly old shoe.

Look out, Hogwarts.

Winry Rockbell is on her way.

---

In a long, dark, deserted hallway, a low grumbling can be heard. It grows louder and louder, and it seems to be coming closer and closer! And then-- then--

“I’m starved! Can’t we at least try to find the kitchen?”

And then, a loud, whiny voice is heard as a pathetic Havoc walks slowly down the hall, clutching his stomach.

“No way. Not when I’m so close to finding out what this place is!”

Hughes charged past his companion and ducked through another doorway. In the past two hours-- Had they really been lost that long?-- they had only visited five different rooms. In each one, Hughes had found several things worth checking out, the simplest of which consisted of a trap door to nowhere, a talking painting of a short knight riding a fat grey pony, a ghost that wouldn’t stop crying, and a strange mirror.

“What the hell are you talking about? All we’ve found so far is a bunch of weird junk and a ghost!”

“Exactly!”

Havoc shook his head at the man’s strange reasoning and sighed mournfully, his stomach giving another loud growl.

We’re never gonna get out of here.

He sighed again, wishing desperately that he hadn’t used his last cigarette before they had gotten
hopelessly lost.

---

Roy Mustang positively growled, glaring at anyone who was either brave enough or stupid enough to risk a glance at him. He was resisting the urge to snap and torch the whole place only because he was sitting near Hawkeye, who was polishing her gun in plain sight. Havoc was supposed to have met with him over an hour ago to switch shifts with the gun-crazed woman, but he had never shown up.

The next time Mustang saw Havoc, the blond would be a dead man walking.

To take his mind off of his anger and frustration, Mustang looked down at the person sitting next to him.

He, Edward, and Hawkeye had all come to the Great Hall to eat dinner with the school, but the young boy had yet to take a single bite. Hawkeye had piled some food onto Edward’s plate in the hopes that he would eat, but Roy didn’t think that Ed had even noticed. The short alchemist had not eaten anything since the attack, which had happened three days ago.

The staff and students alike had grown accustomed to the presence of the strange military, but every so often, a curious person-- whether it be a student or teacher-- would look up at the head table and stare at them until he was caught and then look properly abashed as he quickly began to eat again.

The Elric boy received most of these stares. He was an enigma to all of those around him; why did he never speak? Why did he never eat? Why was his protection so important?

If only they knew.

Edward had not spoken since he was forcefully dragged away from the scene of the accident. He spent most of his time either locked in his room or hobbling aimlessly around the castle to the best of his abilities, lost in his own mind.

But that night, the order of things changed. The doors to the Great Hall suddenly banged open, and a large iron wrench flew straight through the room and smacked Edward in the the forehead, knocking his head back.

The next thing anyone heard or saw was a blond girl wearing blue carpenter jeans, a black tube top, and a red bandanna shouting like one of Mrs. Weasley’s howlers.

“EDWARD ELRIC, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY PRECIOUS AUTOMAIL? !”

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Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc collapsed onto the ground. Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes still ran around him like he had drank ten large mugs of espresso.

“Isn’t anybody gonna get us outta here? !”

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AN: Well, that’s it for chapter three. I hope everybody liked it. I’m sorry it’s so short; I don’t
know why, but I can’t seem to write long chapters for my FMA stories.

Now you’ve read, so please review!

-Sugarpony

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Edited: 6/22/07